


I Will Follow You Into the Dark

by afrocurl



Category: Veronica Mars (TV), Veronica Mars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fluff, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-09-17
Updated: 2006-09-17
Packaged: 2018-02-13 11:22:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2148906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afrocurl/pseuds/afrocurl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Logan decides to propose and gets Wallace to help him out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Will Follow You Into the Dark

**Author's Note:**

> written for the General Ficathon Challenge.  My prompts were anything to do with Logan is always good; Logan/Veronica and some Logan and Wallace interaction (as friends, that is) would be great; No interest in Duncan, and nothing too... odd.  Hopefully this fits that.  High fives should be given to [](http://fickledame.livejournal.com/profile)[**fickledame**](http://fickledame.livejournal.com/) and [](http://rowanceleste.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://rowanceleste.livejournal.com/)**rowanceleste** for their beta jobs.  The title comes from a Death Cab for Cutie song, which is used in the fic.  If that has you worried, this fic is plenty fluffy.  At this point, all mistakes are my own, as well.

“Hey, man….I need a favor from you.” Logan walked around his house while he talked, hoping to dissipate the nervous tension that had taken over his body with his decision.

“You know, that phrase never bodes well for me and I don’t like it anymore from you than I do from your girlfriend.”  Wallace retorted as he leaned back against his couch, his glower unseen by Logan.

“This is different, man.  My favor doesn’t involve the possibility of arrest, fines or legal charges. I need your _help_ , more so than a favor.”  Sighing loudly into the phone, Wallace contemplated the ramifications of that statement.

“Logan Echolls is asking for _my_ help?  This is a sign of the apocalypse, I’m sure.”

“Very funny, Wallace.  I’m about to ask Veronica to marry me, and I need your help picking out a ring.”

“Hold up!  You’re going to _propose_? To Veronica Mars? Have you lost your shit Echolls?”

“ _Obviously_ , I have.  I want to spend the rest of my days with her, and I _need_ your help figuring out which ring she’d like the best.”

“You think _I_ know what sort of ring Veronica wants?  You haven’t really picked up on how our relationships works have you, Logan?”  Wallace was trying to distract himself from the discussion of Veronica and an engagement ring, but Logan kept going.

“I know that you tell each other everything, and that you’ve never made friendship bracelets.  That’s good enough for me.” 

“You have a point, but that doesn’t mean I really want to help you pick out a ring for Veronica.  It’s not like we braid each other’s hair after cheerleading practice or talk about what kind of engagement ring is best or the perfect wedding dress.” Shifting the phone to his other ear, Wallace scowled before adding defensively. “I don’t care what she told you.”

“I’ll spare you the details, Wallace.  I just need your advice on what sort of diamond and setting she’d like.  Plus, I can’t talk to anyone else about the ring.  Mac will break under Veronica’s questions faster than I can say _Easy Rider_ , and Dick isn’t really the kind to help with something romantic.  You’re the least likely suspect, and my only hope.”

“I’ll help you, but only so I don’t have to listen to you quote any more movies. I also want you to know that if you start busting out the Yoda dialect then all bets are off,” Wallace warned.

“Thanks, man.  I owe you, big time.  You know you’ll be my best man for this.”

“I’d better be.  There’s no way Veronica would have it any other way.”

“Of course.  Can you meet me tomorrow at 4?  I’ve got a meeting before that, and then we can head down to San Diego.  I don’t trust any of the jewelry stores in Neptune.”

“Works for me.  I’m off work tomorrow afternoon as it is.”

“Perfect.  I really do owe you, Wallace.”

“You bet you do, Echolls.”

Logan hung up the phone, and stared around his apartment, contemplating how much larger and emptier it seemed without his tiny blonde dynamo of a girlfriend taking up space.  Her energy filled the house, making it feel like the happy home he always imagined but never experienced growing up. He picked up the framed photo of them by the entryway and ran his fingers over Veronica’s face, still awed they had managed to survive college, and beyond without too many fights or breakups.  A smirk crossed his face as he also remembered all of the times that they tried to relive the bickering days of high school. 

Placing the photo back on the table, he wondered if his decision to propose was going to go over well with Veronica.

-*-

Logan waited in his black Range Rover for Wallace to come out of his apartment.  The car ride down to San Diego might not be the best way to spend time with his future fiancée’s best friend, but it needed to be done.  As much as Logan loved Veronica, he had no clue what she wanted in the way of an engagement ring and he wanted to get her something she’d want to wear every day. 

Truth be told, Logan wasn’t sure that Veronica really wanted to marry him, but he knew that he didn’t want to spend his life with anyone else.  College had been good to them, really, but he still doubted how they had managed to survive four years of Hearst as a functional couple, by their standards.  Wallace, he mused, was there for moral support, and to make sure he didn’t screw up one of the most important moments in his life irrevocably.

Veronica still trusted Wallace more than she did him, which was a continued source of frustration. He needed Wallace in his corner if anything was actually going to work well when he ultimately asked the question.

Wallace finally made his way out of the apartment, causing Logan to breathe a sigh of relief that he hadn’t changed his mind.  “Nice of you to join me,” Logan stated with a sigh as Wallace opened the passenger seat door.

“Sorry, man.  I got caught up with something and lost track of time.”

“It’s ok, so long as you really help me with this ring situation.”  Logan started the car and pulled out of Neptune and onto the 5 heading south.

“Of course.  I can’t leave V with a crappy engagement ring. Just because it’s expensive, doesn’t mean it’s good or that she’ll like it.”

“You think I don’t know that?  This is me, spending time with you to get my girlfriend, and your best friend, the best damn engagement ring possible.”  Logan’s voice started to inch higher as he talked, causing Wallace to smirk in amusement.  

“Calm down, man.  You really are worked up about this situation, aren’t you?”

“You have no idea. This is epic moment for me. I really want her to say yes, and I really want this to be perfect for her.  You can help me, right?”  The time that Logan spent thinking in his apartment the night before didn’t help his situation anymore.  “I spent way too much time thinking about proposing yesterday, and I’m just worried I’ll accidentally screw this up.  I shouldn’t be worried, right?”

Watching Logan drum his fingers on the steering wheel, Wallace shook his head. “I can tell you’re nervous—you’re about as jumpy as I’ve seen you on five lattes before finals senior year.  Don’t worry, man.  She’s mentioned her perfect engagement ring a few times, so I should be able to remember something.  I think she’ll still be surprised though, since she has no idea I really paid attention to those conversations.”  Wallace stopped staring at Logan and looked out onto the road. 

“Perfect.  This trip may not suck after all.”  He let out a deep breath and tried to relax, still unable to stop the nervous drumming of his fingers.

“Careful. You almost overwhelmed me with your enthusiasm. You’re sure this is what you want, right?”  Wallace tried not to shrug at Logan’s lack of enthusiasm, but he couldn’t help it.

“You have no idea.  I had to tell the biggest lie about where I was this afternoon.  I’m passing up sex for this trip.  Hopefully she’ll appreciate it later.”

Wallace shuddered. “Too much information, man. How many times have I told you both that I don’t need to know about your sex life?”

“Sorry—I still haven’t remembered to put you in the same category as Keith since I won’t get shot if I accidentally mention my sex life to you. You don’t know ‘awkward’ until you stupidly mention to your girlfriend’s father that the reason you’re late for Sunday brunch was because your girlfriend told you to come back to bed.”  Logan shrugged his shoulders as he continued to drive.

“I _so_ didn’t need to hear that either.  My ears, they burn!”

“Doesn’t that line ever get old, man?  I still remember you saying that during high school.”

“We weren’t friends until college, remember?  I still thought you were a complete asshole until we did that egg drop project together in senior year.”

“Right,” Logan sighed.  “I guess Veronica must have just mentioned something.”

“Sounds like something she would do, actually.”  Wallace started to fidget with seat belt as Logan drove down the 5.

Glancing over, Logan watched Wallace’s nervous fidgeting before asking curiously,  “Why are you nervous?  I’m the one picking out the ring to decide the rest of my life—you’re just along for moral support and consultation.”

“If only you knew the other half of it.  For a girl who swore she’d never get married, you’d be surprised how much this issue means. Veronica has been obsessed about when you’re going to ask her and telling me about her perfect ring, which is not something she usually does, so we can’t fuck this up because there’s no way I’m screwing this up for her.”  Wallace stopped playing with his seat belt, as he realized that his nervous energy was only going to make Logan’s worse.

“Thanks, dude.  I was trying _not_ to be nervous about finding this ring.  Knowing that she’s actually being a ‘girly girl’ about it and has set expectations isn’t making it easier, either.”  Logan huffed at this new information before attempting to focus on the freeway. “Why couldn’t she have stuck with being the ‘guy’ in our relationship like she always tells me she is?” he grumbled.

“Yeah, well, she’s full of girl ideas now apparently.  She wants the ring engraved, too.”

“What?  I have to think of something to put on this ring now, too?   Why do I get the impression she didn’t tell you what she wanted engraved on it, either?”  Cursing under his breath, Logan punched the steering wheel before glaring at Wallace.  “You better be some help or you’re going to end up wearing a fucking dress and being Veronica’s maid of honor instead!”

“First of all, I don’t care if I am Veronica’s best friend, there’s no way in hell I’m going to be her maid of honor.  As for threatening me with a dress, you need to pull yourself together, man, because that ain’t gonna happen. Plus, I already told you I’m going to help you with the ring.  Lucky for you Veronica’s been planting hints to me for the last few weeks.  I’m pretty sure she knew you’d ask me for help.”

“Lovely.  I thought you were the safe choice for this trip.  I’m not sure if I should be happy because she wants to marry me or mad because it’s not like she’s given me any idea of what she wants.  She _loves_ to torture me.”

“That she does.  Remember that time at Hearst when she had you believing she was sleeping with Piz? I seriously thought your head was going to explode and Piz would end up in the hospital.”  Wallace swallowed his chuckle and tried to wipe the grin off his face at Logan’s death glare.

“Thanks for bringing that up, Wallace.  Dick may be inching back into the lead for Best Man duties,” Logan commented with as much sarcasm as he could muster given the topic of conversation.

“Do you _want_ to get married?  I’m pretty sure that a condition of Veronica saying yes is the understanding that I’m Best Man.”

Logan grumbled as he continued to look onto the freeway.  “I know. I’m just too damn nervous about this ring.  There’s pressure to get this right.  How well do you and I know Veronica?”

“Dear lord—you really are scared, aren’t you?  You’ve known Veronica since you were twelve, and you’re twenty-four now.  That’s twelve years of knowing how Veronica’s mind works.  I’ve only got eight years.”  Wallace chuckled at the faint look of panic starting to become permanently etched on Logan’s face.

“Just because I’ve known her for years doesn’t mean I know how her mind works. Besides, what if we screw this up? Maybe marriage isn’t the right step for us.”

“I can’t believe I’m hearing Logan Echolls admitting to being scared.  After all the hell you put her through, you think not proposing is going to help you now?”

Resigning himself to his current fate, Logan moaned again, “You’re right.  I love Veronica more than anything and now I can’t imagine _not_ marrying her. You realize that means that the ring has to be just as perfect as my proposal, right?”

“It will be, man, if you just calm down, and don’t kill us on the way there.”

“Alright,” Logan sighed. At that moment, he realized that they were almost to downtown San Diego.  “Showtime!”

-*-

Logan and Wallace walked into the jewelry store in the Gaslamp District, but found no one on the floor.

“This doesn’t bode well,” Logan mused, as he scanned the showroom again.

“It will be fine, Logan.  Before someone starts asking you twenty questions, why don’t I ask the basics of Ring Selection 101?  White Gold, Yellow Gold or Platinum?”

“Platinum.  Mom always said it was the best.”

“She wasn’t stupid, or poor.  Next question: how many carats do you want the diamond to be?  You do want a diamond, right?”

“Veronica’s traditional enough to want one, I think, and nothing too big, but nothing too small either.  Like a carat or two?”

“That sounds about right. If you get her too many carats she’s going to be suspicious that you’re just trying to blind her.”

“Right. Considering that I’m not going to cheat on her ever, I don’t think she needs a trophy wife size ring to compensate her for marrying me,” he stated before rubbing his hands nervously on his pants. “I think between one and two carats says ‘I love you’ instead of ‘I have a guilty conscience.’, so she should be good with that size.  Thanks Wallace.”

“No problem,” Wallace said, just as a middle-aged man in a black suit walked out of the back room.

“I’m sorry, gentlemen, we were in a meeting.  How can I help you this afternoon?”

“I’m looking to get an engagement ring for my girlfriend.  This is her best friend; he’s here for moral support.”

“Of course,” the salesman said.  “Our engagement rings are over here, if you’ll follow me.” 

Logan and Wallace moved from the center island of the store to one of the sides where a case was filled with twenty rings or so.  Logan took the next step and started to talk about the issues he had just discussed with Wallace.

“I’m looking for a platinum ring, with a one to two carat diamond in the center with a few smaller diamonds on either size.  I’d also like to have it engraved inside.”

“Nice touch, man.  She’ll love that,” Wallace said as the salesman looked around the case.  Wallace thought the reinforcement about the engraving would get Logan to stop being so damn nervous, and it worked slightly.  Logan, after Wallace’s comment, relaxed and stopped tapping his feet against the side of the counter.

“We don’t have anything like that right now, but we can make you something like that, if you’d like.  What did you want engraved on it?”

“I will follow you into the dark,” Logan replied flatly, surprising Wallace at the same time.  Since deciding on the ring with Wallace a few minutes before, he had suddenly gotten over his nerves about this decision and had actually thought of something meaningful to put inside the ring.

The salesman looked up briefly, “I’m not sure that it will fit, but we can do our best.”

“Please do.  It’s very important that it be on the ring.  If it means the ring is wider, so be it.  I’m not interested in trying to save money on this ring, either.”

“Very well.  I’ll be back with some paperwork on the specifics of your ring in one minute.”  The salesman walked into the back again, and Wallace gave Logan a strange look.

“You’re going to need to explain the engraving, Logan.  I’m totally lost.  Half an hour ago you had no idea that she wanted it engraved and now you’ve got something to put there.  I’m impressed.”

“It’s a title of a Death Cab for Cutie song, and I want to make sure that Veronica knows that this engagement, this marriage and life are forever.  I once told her our relationship was epic and I meant it. I want this engraving to be something we both remember always.” 

“Hold up, man.  Don’t cry in front of me.  I’ll never get the image out of my head, and you don’t want this story to be part of my speech at the wedding, do you?”  Wallace was shocked at how quickly Logan could change his emotions, but then he remembered some stories Veronica has told him about Logan during high school and realized it wasn’t so strange.

“I’m not going to cry, man.  I’ll probably tell the story of how I almost cried, so it doesn’t matter.  Till Death do us part, right?”  Logan shook his head and got himself back together without actually shedding a tear, after his engraving reveal to the amazement of Wallace.

“You are right.  I like the sentiment, by the way.  I think that after these twelve years as enemies, friends, and lovers, the quote fits.”

“Thanks, Wallace.  I was hoping you’d think the line fit and you didn’t think it was crazy.  As soon as you said she wanted to have it engraved, the line came into my head.  I guess Veronica’s musical tastes have rubbed off.”

“I think that the quote will have her in tears, that’s for sure.”  Wallace thought the quote was perfect, and he really was impressed with how quickly Logan had thought of it.  He mused that maybe Logan understood Veronica a lot better than he thought he did.

The salesman emerged from the back again and spoke to Logan.  “I just need to get your personal information, sir before I finalize the order.”

“Of course, my name is Logan Echolls; I live at 1517 Triton Way, Neptune, California 90902.”

Wallace smiled at the mention of Logan’s new house.  Logan’s new house didn’t seem like it would be in the 02er part of town, but then again, Wallace realized that Logan had really tried to change after everything that happened around their graduation from Neptune High and years at Hearst.

“Thanks you, Mr. Echolls.  I’m going to need the specifications on the ring again.”

“Certainly.  Platinum band, one carat solitaire flanked by one half carat solitaires on either side, with the band being wide enough to have the line mentioned earlier around the inside.”

“What was the line again, Mr. Echolls?”

“I will follow you into the dark,” Logan replied.  His face lit up at the quote again.

“That sounds really lovely, Mr. Echolls.  I’m sure your soon-to-be fiancée will love it.”

“I hope,” Logan and Wallace said in unison. 

“That was creepy, man.  Promise we’ll never do that again?” Wallace asked.

“Of course.   Veronica already tells everyone I’m the girl in our relationship. I don’t need her making fun of me for being mental twins with her best friend.” 

Wallace moved away from Logan, trying to put as much distance between them as possible.  They had spent way too much time taking about Logan’s emotions, Wallace realized. Slapping Logan on the back manfully, he clears his throat.  “You picked a good ring, man. Veronica will love it.”

“Good,” Logan replied before looking at the salesman again.  “If you have any questions, please call me at this number.”  Logan scribbled his cell phone number down on the sheet that the salesman had been using earlier.

As soon as Logan finished writing his number, he nodded to Wallace and the two made their way towards the exit of the store. 

“Anything else you need around town while we’re here?  Might as well save you a trip later,” Logan commented as they left the store and made their way back to the Range Rover.

“No, but thanks for the offer. What did you tell Veronica you were doing today anyway? She’s not stupid, you know.”  Wallace stopped in front of the passenger side as Logan opened the door and climbed in on the other side.  Taking it as a sign that they were going to leave San Diego, Wallace hopped in the car.

 Logan waited until Wallace got into the car before he continued their conversation.  “Believe me, I know! I told her that Trina begged me to come visit her, so Veronica thinks I drove down to LA. What did you tell her?”

“I told her that I got called into work and since I have that ‘Find Me, Follow Me’ service, my work phone automatically rolls to my cell phone if I’m not at my desk.”

Logan bumped fists with Wallace before grinning. “It sounds like we at least have a chance of fooling the super sleuth.  Good job, man.” Shrugging, Logan put the key in the ignition. “Considering that Trina is actually on set filming in LA these past few months and she never remembers her cell phone, I think our bases are covered.”

“Don’t worry.  Veronica has taught us a trick or two. You just need to make sure you don’t crack under pressure and that you hide the ring.” Wallace shook his head. “Man, this feels surreal.  Who’d have thought I’d ever be telling the guy that smashed in Veronica’s headlights that he needs to make sure he hides her engagement ring from her?”

“Oh God.  Don’t remind me about that day.  I still can’t live that down, and it happened eight years ago.”  Logan thought back on the day he smashed Veronica’s headlights.  He glanced over at Wallace curiously. “You know, she never admitted that she was the one that put that bong in my locker.”

Grinning, Wallace admitted, “Hey, at least she made sure she also destroyed the evidence so Lamb couldn’t press criminal charges against you.” He snickered as Logan rolled his eyes in response. “Since Veronica and I could probably still both get in trouble for tampering with evidence, not to mention we don’t want to embarrass the current sheriff, I think I’ll leave it out of my speech at the wedding.”  Wallace let out a quick laugh.

“Thanks.  There’s more that you need to leave out, but I think you know that.”

“Of course.  High School, as a general rule, is off limits, except for mentions of you dressed like Tom Cruise, a kiss at the Camelot, and Alterna-Prom.”

“Alterna-Prom made the list.  I’m surprised.  Considering that Veronica ran away from me that night and what she saw the next morning, I figured she wanted to forget that particular Friday the thirteenth.”  Logan looked out the window as he remembered Veronica’s early morning confession, and his inability to remember anything from that night.  He had tons of missteps to make up for, and he’d done a decent job through college, but he still wanted to do better.

“It did, if only because V is still trying to forget the shittier parts of senior year.”

Logan sighed at Wallace’s last comment.  “Tell me about it.  I’d still like to wish that Graduation night had gone differently.”

“You and just about everyone else, Logan.  I was an idiot for trying to find Jackie, that’s for sure.”

“And I wish I had followed Veronica the first time she asked me where she could find Cassidy.  You following your heart had a lot less negative consequences than me ignoring my gut feeling.  You know what your Mom says though.” Shaking his head, Logan taps his fingers against the wheel.  “Shall we get back to Neptune before Veronica starts to get curious about either of our whereabouts?  She knows it takes a while to get back from LA, especially in traffic, but she’d be expecting you to be done with work soon.”

“Yeah.  We don’t need a nosy Veronica on our hands after picking out that ring. A suspicious Veronica scares the crap out of me.”

“Truer words have never been spoken.”  Logan finally started the car, and pulled out the parking spot before heading for the freeway.

 

-*-

When Logan got back to his house after dropping off Wallace, Veronica was waiting in the living room, sprawled on the couch.

“How was Trina?” she asked as she sat up on the couch and then walked over to the door where Logan stood.

“Does Trina ever change? She wanted to know if I wanted a part in her latest made for TV movie. She has moved up from ‘Dead Hooker #3’ and she’s at least ‘Dead Hooker#1 now though.”

“At least she’s not working on the ‘Aaron Echolls Tribute Story’ anymore.”  Grabbing his hand, she pulled him into the living room towards the couch.  “What was the name of the movie she was working on again?” she asked as she tumbled them both onto the leather surface.

Grinning behind her back, Logan dropped a kiss on the top of her head as he sprawled out next to her. “I don’t remember, but I can give Trina a call later and ask her if it really matters to you.  She may even ask if you’re interested in playing ‘Dead Hooker#2.”

“That’s okay. I think I’ll pass.  It was weird, but I couldn’t get a hold of Wallace today either. He told me he went to work but every time I called him, it went to his cell phone. He’s usually at desk after lunch at least. I don’t suppose you know where he was, do you?”

“Hey, he’s not my best friend, remember? You’re the one that’s supposed to keep track of him.”

“Yeah, well, it’s usually not a problem for me to keep track of him. I knew I should have stuck a tracking device in his cell phone. Between you visiting Trina and Wallace supposedly at work, this day has sucked. I was so bored.”

“ _What?_   Veronica Mars couldn’t find a way to amuse herself without her boyfriend or best friend around? I thought for sure you’d be wreaking havoc, or you know, at least hanging out with your Dad and Backup.  Face it, Mars. You’d be miserable without me!”  Logan clapped his hands in triumph, and then put a fist in the air.

“Very funny, Logan.  Dad took Backup to look for this bounty hunter and Cliff didn’t need a hand with any of his clients.  Needless to say, with the two of you gone all afternoon, I got bored.”

Logan cuddled her closer before surreptiously taking the TV remote from her hand.  “I’m sorry you were bored. I can go hunt down Wallace and make him pay if you want.”

“He just better not be dating that Natalie girl again. I hate her.” she sighed before elbowing Logan in the gut at his laugh.  “Hey, any woman that is dating my BFF but has the nerve to ogle my boyfriend’s ass is not good enough for Wallace.” Noticing the remote in Logan’s hand, she grabbed it, ignoring Logan’s groan. “What did you want to do tonight?”

“How about we spend the night in.  We can order Chinese and rent a movie.”

“Perfect.”

-*-

Logan had managed to keep the ring hidden from Veronica for three weeks.  It was a good think that Veronica never wanted to go to Dick’s apartment, or else the secret would have been out shortly after the ring was in Neptune. 

With the ring safely sitting in Dick’s safe, though, Logan had to start planning the perfect evening to propose.  He looked at the calendar and noted happily that it was nearing the end of May.  After graduating from high school, Logan and Veronica had started a tradition where they avoided the entire city of Neptune on June 3rd.  Usually it meant that they spend the day in San Diego or LA, but today Logan thought, would be the perfect way to tell Veronica how much he wanted to be with her for the rest of their lives. 

It fit, he thought, to take a day that had such horrible memories and create some happy for them out of it.  Sort of like that day when he realized that his Mom was really dead, and his whole relationship with Veronica changed.  Of course, he had to remember to leave the city this year, even though he wanted so badly to propose on Dog Beach, as a nod to how much he hated their first breakup. 

Instead, he settled for a trip to Santa Barbara for the day.  He had done his best to keep his emotions in check as he drove up the coast for this trip.

Veronica sat clueless next to him, watching him as he failed to contain his nervousness, again.

“Everything alright, Logan?”

“It will be later.  I’m just a bit nervous about what you’ll think of where we’re going.”  
     
“Why should you be nervous?  We get the hell out of Neptune every year on the third, why is this one any different?”

“It just is,” he said sheepishly.  He didn’t want to talk about it anymore, fearing he’d ask her in the car, instead of at that park he found that looked out over the Pacific.

“Ok, now you’re being cryptic.  That’s never a good sign.”  Veronica looked at Logan with one of her stares that she used when trying to figure someone’s motives.

“Well, as long as you know that no circus animals were harmed in order to make our evening special.”  He hoped he contained the grin that he wanted to expose, but knew that she’d figure out his secret if he did.

“I would hope not.  What are the plans for today, anyway?”  She looked around the freeway, as she tried to determine where in Santa Barbara they were spending the day.

“I thought we’d just hang around the beach, and then I wanted to take you to this park on a cliff that overlooks the Pacific.”

“Decidedly simple, but I like it,” she replied softly, as she started to look around the Rover for something to talk about, since the outlets in Camarillo weren’t conducive to a conversation with Logan and neither was the big Post Office in Ventura.  Normal trips with Logan were never this awkward and she wondered at his obvious tension.  “I hope you like everything about today.  Blood and sweat went into making today amazing.”

“I’m intrigued now.  Today sounds like it was a major project.”

“You have no idea,” he replied, as he looked at the road sign on the 101.  “We’re almost there.”

 

-*-

After the awkwardness of the car ride had dissipated into something that passed as normal, the day turned out to be pretty amazing.  The beach was empty, thanks to the proximity to finals at UCSB, and the weather was perfect for early June.  The June gloom disappeared around noon, which allowed for a carefree afternoon on the beach.  Logan had a lunch catered at the beach for them, but he hadn’t mentioned anything about their evening at the park. 

As the afternoon waned, Logan had led Veronica away from the beach and towards the park for dinner.  He tried not to fumble with the ring box that sat in his pocket, but he was failing miserably at not obsessing about the small ring that was about to define the rest of his life.

When the couple arrived at the park, he opened the passenger door for her. 

“What’s prompting the chivalry today?”

Looking at her with a grin he replied, “Can’t a boyfriend just do something nice for his girlfriend?”

“Not when the boyfriend and girlfriend are the two of us.  Something’s up.”

“Why would you say that, Veronica?  I’m not allowed to be a loving boyfriend?”  Logan hoped that he didn’t have a good reason to be nice to her, though he figured she had determined that something was up.  He tried to mask his surprise with fake sincerity, which Veronica picked up on.

“I know you’re hiding something, Logan.  You’ve been acting strange since that errand you took three weeks ago.  Remember, intrepid girl detective here.”

“I realize your skills, Veronica, and you don’t have to worry about my actions anymore.  Can you follow me up to the table over here?”  He motioned his left arm towards the simply dressed table that looked over the ocean from one side and the hills of Santa Barbara on the other.

“Only if you promise to explain yourself, soon,” she commented as she put her hand out for Logan to grab with his right arm.  Walking towards the table, he continued talking.

“Give me two hours, and you’ll have your answers.”

“Alright, but those two hours better be filled with some amazing Italian food, or you are dead.”

“It is.  I had dinner catered by the best place in Santa Barbara.  You can eat your weight in pasta if you want to.”

Veronica didn’t have a quick comment back for his last statement, which prompted Logan to slowly let go of Veronica’s hand and allowed her to sit down on the park bench.  He made his way over to the opposite side and then sat down.

Once both of them were seated, a waiter appeared with a bottle of red wine, which he uncorked and then poured into two glasses.

“Nice touch.  You’re really pulling out all of the big stops tonight,” Veronica said quietly after taking a sip from her wine glass.

“Today is about more than just getting out of Neptune, Veronica,” he said in a serious tone.  His nervous energy had transformed itself out of their normal banter and into a tone that he didn’t very often.  The tone had Veronica’s attention.

“I’m sensing that now, Logan,” she commented as she looked around the park.  There were white Christmas tree lights in the trees, and there were tikki torches set up around them.  She nervously started to drink more of her wine, not knowing what to make of this highly romantic setting.

Logan took a nervous sip of his wine before he started to reply to Veronica’s obvious confusion about their day.

“I know that we usually get out of Neptune today, but there’s something else I wanted to do with you here today.”  The ring box in his pocket was burning his palm as he stroked the box again.  “We’ve been through so much together, today’s date is just one of the myriad examples.”

Gulping some more wine, Veronica nodded before speaking.  “That’s true, Logan, but what does today’s date have to do with this dinner?  Everything looks lovely, by the way, but you didn’t have to do this for me because of Cassidy.”

“Well, you know how we’ve tried to make this day not suck for the last five years?  I wanted to do something to give you a totally different memory of today.”  The hand holding onto the ring came out of his pocket, and he inched off of the bench and walked towards Veronica on the other side.

Once he was next to Veronica, he sat down next to her and continued speaking as the box sat in his palm, “We’ve been through way too much together, and apart, and I wanted to know…” Logan had to stop as he choked up at bit. “…If you’d marry me, Veronica Mars?”  Logan finally opened the box and waited for Veronica to respond.

She looked up at his face as the box stood open in front of her.  A few moments passed as she processed Logan’s question and tried to speak around the lump in her throat.   Smiling tremulously, she stared at the obvious love in Logan’s eye before snapping out of her daze and replying out loud, “Yes.” 

Logan looked at her to make sure that she was serious, and when he saw her nod her head, he took the ring out of the box and slowly placed it on her left ring finger.  Craning his head down, he placed a tender kiss on her forehead followed by another on her lips.  Veronica wanted desperately to deepen the kiss, but Logan quickly moved his face from hers. 

Veronica inspected the ring before speaking again.  “It’s gorgeous.  Is this what you were doing on that errand three weeks ago?”  Even though she’d figured out that detail once he removed the box from his pocket, she wanted confirmation.

“It is.  I had Wallace help me get it right.  You like it, right?” Logan managed to get that out without losing it, which made him proud. 

“It’s beautiful, Logan. I love it!  It’s not too big, but not to small either.  Should I look inside the band?”

“Umm, yes,” he managed to get out.

Taking off the ring carefully, she looked inside the band, and was shocked to see what was written on the inside.

“Death Cab? I really have rubbed off on you,” she laughed while she read the lyric on the inside.  Had he not just proposed, he would have received a punch to the arm.

Logan scoffed, “I put tons of time into thinking of that lyric.  Thanks.”  He started to sulk back to his side of the table before Veronica grabbed his arm.

“It’s perfect, really.  You thought of it on the spot, didn’t you?  You know this song is about a couple wanting to follow each other to death?” She rubbed circles around his forearm, and tried to convey how much she loved the ring and the sentiment.

“I know.  I’m the girl in the relationship.  That was established long ago.  You really like it? I knew you liked the song, but I hadn’t really listened to the lyrics.”

“I do.”

“Well, now let’s figure out some details about when you saying that will make me a hundred times happier.”  He started to laugh and then got up to return to his side of the table.  “Dinner’s cold now.”

“That’s ok.  I think I’ll live without eating my weight in pasta tonight.” She smiled at her fiancé and then looked over the scene he’d created.  It was just about as perfect as she could have imagined, and she hoped that the wedding would have the same feeling.


End file.
